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STS Honors Founder Bill Coibion

Founder leaving nonprofit to focus on faith-based mission

Shoulder To Shoulder, one of few local nonprofits that addresses the fatherlessness in our communities, honors its founder Bill Coibion who has stepped away April 1, 2017, to pursue his passion to help men become all God wants them to be.

Coibion began with the Point Man Breakfast Series, which has reached over 25,000 men in our region. In 2004, Mr. Coibion launched the first transformational discipleship-based men’s ministry in the greater region as the Men’s Pastor at Adventure Christian Church. Then, in fall 2007, Bill began a long-term initiative to mentor generationally fatherless boys that enables them to become well-balanced, mature men in their family and community in the future.

“Leaving a legacy to the generations that follow is something we teach the young boys at Shoulder To Shoulder every day. There is no doubt that Bill is leaving his own legacy not only within the organization, but with hundreds of at-risk youth who are now living better lives because of Shoulder To Shoulder.” said Ron Crane, Board Chairman for Shoulder To Shoulder. “We are thrilled to ensure his legacy lives on with the annual William H. Coibion Jr. Award.”

To honor Coibion for all of the tremendous work he has put into the organization and surrounding communities, Shoulder To Shoulder has created the William H. Coibion, Jr. Award. The honor will be presented annually to an individual in our region who best embodies Coibion’s passion, dedication and commitment to uplifting at-risk youth.

“Bill has brought to light the devastating effects regarding fatherlessness and how it has impacted our communities. His relentless pursuit to address our region’s number one social challenge has made a real difference for hundreds of disadvantaged youth and their families,” said Dr. John Jackson, President of William Jessup University in Rocklin.

“Without Bill’s foresight and dedication over the past decades, Shoulder To Shoulder would not have made the impact it has in this community on the many young boys who are now on the path to success,” said Shoulder To Shoulder President Richard Moore. “His guidance and mentorship will be greatly missed by our staff and families.”

“I look forward to focusing my time and effort to encourage and equip men in our region to become Sons to our Heavenly Father that model the attributes of being a Godly husband, father and community servant.” said Coibion.

Richard Moore Named President of Shoulder To Shoulder

Shoulder To Shoulder, one of the few local nonprofit agencies addressing crime, truancy and homelessness through mentoring at-risk fatherless young boys and coaching their single moms or grandmothers announces Richard Moore will serve as the organization’s President.

Richard has more than two decades experience in the not-for-profit sector. Most recently, Richard served as the Northern California Area Manager for Education First and led the Master’s Commission Urban Missions Institute in São Paulo, Brazil.

“We are thrilled to be able to add someone with Richard’s experience and passion for helping at-risk youth to the Shoulder To Shoulder team,” said Shoulder To Shoulder Founder Bill Coibion. “As an organization, we are committed to helping the unprecedented number of young boys in our inner cities growing up without fathers. This seldom discussed social issue is having a devastating impact on our schools and jails. In Richard, we believe we have someone who is focused on breaking this debilitating cycle of fatherlessness.”

Shoulder to Shoulder, headquartered in Del Paso Heights, is committed to addressing fatherlessness through a mentor program that equips urban youth for life, enabling them to become well-balanced, mature men in their family and community.

In his role as president, Richard will oversee day-to-day operations of Shoulder To Shoulder and lead the organizations latest initiatives and outreach programs.

“Leaving a legacy to the generations that follow us is one of the most important things we can do in this lifetime,” said Richard. “Shoulder to Shoulder’s unique ability to focus on the cause of homelessness, crime and education dropout rates, aligns with my passions to help address our community’s deepest needs. I am thankful for this opportunity to transform the lives of disadvantaged young boys.”

Richard, a native of San Jose, California, earned degrees in Biblical Studies from Northern California Bible and Organizational Management from Ashford University. Richard is a distinguished author, having published with his wife, Jocelyn, The H Factor, a book on Corporate Social Responsibility and Employment Engagement.

Not only devoted to helping youth and the less fortunate, Richard and Jocelyn have seven children: Randi, Aravis, Debora, Rebekah, Adriana, Sean and Christopher; and four granddaughters. Richard enjoys international travel, global friendships, reading, yoga, journaling, camping and spending as much time as possible with his wife and children.

Founder and CEO, Bill Coibion, will take on an advisory role in Shoulder To Shoulder to assist with the transition. He will focus his subsequent efforts on developing initiatives to encourage and equip men in our region to become Christ like servants in their homes and area churches and model being a Godly husband, father and community servant to his children, family, friends and many others.

Media Alert: Sac Bee’s Article on Shoulder To Shoulder

Lezlie Sterling published an article in the Sac Bee on Monday, June 17th about the great task our organization has set out to accomplish in our community.

In a neighborhood riddled with crime and poverty, Bill Coibion’s vision brings hope to fatherless young men. His faith-based organization, Shoulder to Shoulder, began mentoring boys in 2007, teaching life skills and character, in an effort to break the cycle of generational fatherlessness in Del Paso Heights. In workshops, small group discussions and one-on-one mentoring, the boys are coached from seventh grade through high school, primarily at Freedom Hall across from Grant High School.

Before an annual camping trip to Yosemite, Coibion tells 12 boys that the choices they make today will decide their destiny. “We ignite hope in the kids and then we challenge our young men to take responsibility for their lives,” he says. “Once they do that, we walk through life continuing to coach them and helping to prepare them for adulthood.”

Looking Up – STS featured in the Comstock’s Magazine

Bill Coibion’s commitment to transforming lives in his Del Paso Heights neighborhood began in the mid-1990s when he launched the nonprofi t Shoulder to Shoulder.

He had just become a Christian and felt called to encourage men to be “servant-leaders” at home, in church and in their communities. Eight years passed, and Coibion met the principal of Martin Luther King Jr. High School in Del Paso Heights. The principal told him that 70 percent of students at the high school were growing up without a father figure at home. Most of the kids came from poor households, and fewer than half of them would finish high school, the principal said. Some would likely end up in jail or prison. “The recidivism rate for young boys in the system was so high that I believed we needed to get to them before they got in there,” Coibion says. “In Sacramento County, the return rate of kids who go through juvenile hall and on through the California Youth Authority or into prison is about 90 percent.”

Later, he visited a juvenile hall processing center and saw, sitting in the front row, the youngest offenders: a boy and a girl, both 8 years old. “I had a hard time dealing with that,” Coibion says. “I have a son, and I know the innocence of an 8-year-old. I was very emotional.” So he created Freedom Hall, a longterm program for fatherless young men, primarily in Del Paso Heights, who are mentored by the men in Shoulder to Shoulder. “It’s Freedom Hall vs. juvenile hall,” says Coibion. “We tell the kids, ‘The choices you make will lead to your destiny, and if you continue to make the same bad choices over and over, it becomes a habit. Your character will lead you to your destiny, and if that is juvenile hall, it will eventually lead you to death or destruction. Or you can go through Freedom Hall.’”

Semaj Horace, now a senior at Oakland High School in Oakland, learned of Freedom Hall when a Shoulder to Shoulder mentor came to his school. “I was in P.E. and was getting ready to go run a mile, and a guy walked into class and said, ‘How many of you don’t have a father figure at home?’ I raised my hand, and then he said something about the things they do but all I heard was ‘play video games,’” Horace says. He’s been involved with Freedom Hall for five years now. He takes the train from Oakland to Sacramento to meet with his mentors. He’s happy, confident. His grades are up. He’s visiting college campuses. “As a kid, I was always in trouble,” he says. “They showed me a different way. I’ve learned so much. Video games drew me in, but now I’ve learned to be a man, learned things my father couldn’t teach me.”